For our scripture reading tonight, turn with me to Leviticus 24. Leviticus 24 as we read together verses 10 through 23, the end of the chapter, considering in particular the verses 10 through 14 of Leviticus 24. And after you have found that, if you would also turn to page 50 in the back of the Psalter hymnal. Page 50, in the back of the Psalter hymnal. As you recall from last week, I trust we are in that section of the Catechism that is dealing with the commandments of our God. And in particular, the first table of the law, dealing with our relationship with God. You remember, of course, that the first commandment deals with who we are to worship. The second commandment, as we considered last week, deals with how he is to be worshipped. It answers the question, how shall we worship God? And now we come tonight to the third commandment, which deals really with how God is to be considered in all of our life. How He commands us to consider Him in all of life. He commands us to consider Him reverently and in awe. Lord's Days 36 and 37, pages 50 and 51, both deal with the third commandment. And we're going to consider both of them together tonight. So let's, at this time, recite what we believe concerning these things as I ask the questions, and together we answer for all four of these, from Lord's Day 36 and Lord's Day 37, page 50. Question 99. What is God's will for us in the third commandment? That we neither blaspheme nor misuse the name of God by cursing, perjury, or unnecessary oaths, nor share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders. In a word, it requires that we use the holy name of God only with reverence and awe, so that we may properly confess Him, pray to Him, and praise Him in everything we do and say. Is blasphemy of God's name by swearing and cursing really such serious sin that God is angry also with those who do not do all they can to help prevent it and to forbid it? Yes, indeed. No sin is greater. No sin makes God more angry than blaspheming His name. That is why He commanded the death penalty for it. But may we swear an oath in God's name if we do it reverently? Yes, when the government demands it. or when necessity requires it in order to maintain and promote truth and trustworthiness for God's glory and our neighbor's good. Such oaths are approved in God's Word and were rightly used by Old and New Testament believers. May we swear by saints or other creatures? No. A legitimate oath means calling upon God as the one who knows my heart to witness to my truthfulness and to punish me if I swear falsely no creature is worthy of such honor. Leviticus 24, beginning at verse 10. Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. The son of the Israelite woman Then blasphemed the name with a curse. So they brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shelometh, the daughter of Debris, the Danite. They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them. Then the Lord said to Moses, Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. Say to the Israelites, If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible. Anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the name, he must be put to death. If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death. Anyone who takes the life of someone's animal must make restitution, life for life. If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him. Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured. Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a man must be put to death. You are to have the same law for the alien and the native-born. I am the Lord your God. Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him. The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses. Well, beloved in Christ the Lord, it's all around us. It's in the movies. It's on TV. We find it in the internet. We hear it on the streets. We hear it in the stores, in schools. We hear it on the athletic field and on the playground. We find it at the beach and in virtually all public places, if not all public places. And really, sadly, we might even hear it here in our own church foyer. and maybe even in the courtyard. We see it in the actions of people. We see it in the way that some live. And for many, they would say, well, it's just a harmless habit. It's no big deal. What is it? Taking the Lord's name in vain. Now, of course, we know that many would never ever think about abusing the name and the reputation of their mother or their father or their spouse. But at the same time, they don't seem to give a second thought about abusing the name and the reputation of God. But you see, what's the big deal? How serious can it be? Does God really care? Well, I'm sure that if the son of the Israelite woman and the Egyptian father were here tonight, he would say, don't go there. Don't ask those kinds of questions. Don't test God because He means what He says. He is deadly serious about His name and how His name is to be used. As this son found out firsthand, as the Lord demonstrates the seriousness of hallowing His name, of treating His name as holy, Of lifting it high and exalting His name. The Lord demonstrates the seriousness of hallowing His name, first of all, through His punishment for offenders. And in the second place tonight, in the words of His command. First of all, through His punishment for offenders, as we consider this true story from Leviticus chapter 24. Well, what's the occasion that we have before us? Well, the occasion includes an intermarriage. Now, the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father. Now, this may be somewhat strange to us because we thought that the Egyptians, we thought that Egypt was the enemy. But you see, in Exodus chapter 12, we read the Israelites journeyed from Ramses to Succoth. There were 600,000 men on foot. Besides women and children, many other people went up with them. And now those particular words here in the NIV, many other people, are translated in virtually every other version that I looked at. And I looked at many. They're translated with these words, a mixed multitude. A mixed multitude went up with them. 430 years in captivity, and there were some mixed marriages. And the result of one of these mixed marriages was that a fight broke out. Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. Of course, we're not told here what that fight was about. Not exactly. We do know that in Deuteronomy 23, we read about those who are not included in the assembly, those who were not considered part of the congregation, a part of the church of God at that time, including the enemies of Israel, the Ammonites and the Moabites, and that we can understand. Yet in verses 7 and 8 of Deuteronomy 23, we read, Do not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. We can understand that, because the Edomites were from Esau. And it goes on, Do not abhor an Egyptian. Why? because you lived as an alien in his country, the third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord. So God had made provision that one could become an Israelite with full citizenship, membership, rights and privileges in the third generation. But this particular son was from the first generation. Although his mother was an Israelite, his father was an Egyptian, and he was of the first generation. Now, in Jewish tradition, this particular story is well known. And it has been discussed a lot. But for another reason, because they took the word blasphemed to mean pronounced. That he pronounced the name. And therefore, you may know that even today, many Jews will not even take on their lips the name of the Lord Yahweh. And over time, there has been some superstition associated with the name of the Lord among the Jewish tradition. But even so, this particular story is well known and has been discussed a lot, and there is speculation as to what this fight may have been about, that this half-Egyptian man tried to then set up camp in Danite quarters. His mother was from the tribe of Dan, and most likely he was contested by this full-blooded Israelite, and that resulted in a fight before a number of Israelite witnesses in the camp. Again, we don't know exactly what the fight was about, but we do know from the passage that there were a number of witnesses and we do know what the exact act or sin was. Verses 11 and 12, the son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the name with a curse. So they brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shelometh, the daughter of Debris the Danite. they put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them. His act, his sin, was that he blasphemed the name with a curse. Now whose name, boys and girls? What name? Well, verse 16 makes it clear, the name of the Lord. It was understood that this was the glorious name that God had revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai as he stood before the burning bush when he said to God, What is your name that I might tell the people? And he said, my name is I Am Yahweh. And this son of this woman and this man blasphemed with a curse. And boys and girls, to blaspheme means to speak about God in an irreverent way. To speak about God in an insulting way. In a way that attacks his reputation. In a way that dishonors him. And this man blasphemed God the name with a curse. And here that means to declare someone, to say that someone is without content. That he's empty. That he is without significance. And that's what this man did. He said that about God. That he is without content. That he is insignificant. And by doing that, he denied God's power. He said that God was nothing. You see, at that time, one would attack a man or maybe a whole nation of people by attacking his God or by attacking their God. And therefore, here, to say that God was weak, to say that God was nothing, to say that God was insignificant, was to say the very same thing about Israel. And therefore, this man, in his anger, tried to provoke this full-blooded Israelite by dragging God's name through the mud and using it in the most degrading way possible. And notice the outcome. The outcome in which God shows the seriousness of taking His name in vain. Again, verse 12, "...they put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them. Then the Lord said to Moses, take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him." Notice, they didn't act according to what they thought was right. They waited for the will of God. And this very punishment that he should lose his life was by God's order, it was by God's design, not by man's decision. And God's very command to remove him from the camp meant to remove the uncleanness from the camp and it was a sign of judgment. But then notice also, God says that those who heard it, Those who witnessed the taking of His name in vain, the blasphemy of His name, were to be involved. They were to lay their hands on this one. Now why, we might ask. Well, I believe our Heidelberg Catechism answers it in answer 99. Nor share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders. Beloved, God does not want us to keep quiet. He does not want us to keep our mouths shut when we hear His name being taken in vain. And believe me, this scares me. Because I lack courage. And maybe you do too. But God says, stand up openly for me. And by laying their hands on this one, that signified publicly that they had no part in it, that they did not accept this horrendous behavior that all the guilt was on him. But even further, the whole congregation was to be involved. God called upon the whole congregation to stone him. We know that he could have snuffed out this man by sending fire from heaven. He could have snuffed him out in a moment like he did with Nadab and Abihu. We know that God could have commanded the very earth to open up and swallow him like he did with Achan. God could have taken care of it by Himself, but He doesn't. He calls the community to stand up as well publicly for His holy name. That they too might dread the thought of cursing God, and instead, they might delight in His name. Now today, of course, we know that some would read this and call God a racist. After all, this man was a half of an Egyptian. He was in the minority. So God must be a racist. But God is no racist. It's simply not true. Because as the passage makes clear, this punishment was for everyone. As verse 16 says, anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death. The entire assembly must own Him, whether an alien or native born when he blasphemes the name he must be put to death you see all those who were associated with Israel even the aliens and strangers who were under God's protecting hand they knew excuse me they knew that God takes his name and he takes the holding up of his name as holy they knew that he takes it seriously because he demonstrates the seriousness of it also in the second place in the words of his command very simply the third commandment says you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who takes His name in vain the negative prohibition is you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain it's black and white it's not on occasion it's not once in a while it's okay you shall not ever now we might ask well what's the big deal what's in a name and we know that names identify us to a certain extent for example you might think of some corporation names if i say campbells or toyota or dmv well you think of certain things you might think of soup with regard to campbells you might think of automobiles with regard to toyota with the dmv you might think of standing in long lines to get your license renewed or even to get your license or for the younger people to take a test but but names identify us and things to a certain extent. And it's the same thing with our personal names. It's not the same as the biblical names we know that often said something about the character of the person. The meaning of our names often says nothing about us in any way, shape, or form as far as our character is concerned. But our names do tell something about us. If you know someone fairly well and you hear their name, thoughts come to your mind. For example, if you know me and you hear my name, You might think of me as a preacher. You might think of me as the husband of Brenda. Of the father of six. Five foot ten. That even says it on my license, believe it or not. You might think of me as stunningly handsome. Well, four out of five isn't too bad. But our names say something about us. And the same is true with God, even more so. When it comes to God's name, In the Bible, God was given different names. And all the names that we have recorded in Scripture for God say something about His character. For example, El Shaddai means God Almighty. Elohim refers to the Almighty Creator and Preserver. Yahweh Sabaoth is talking about the Lord of hosts. Again, Yahweh means I Am. And all of these and other names that are given for God in the Bible fall under the umbrella, we might say, of that title, the name of the Lord. And that title, the name of the Lord, stands for God in the fullness of His being. And that means that God's name includes everything that can be said about Him. It's talking about His power, His majesty, His love, His mercy, His grace, the fact that He is omniscient, He's omnipresent. It points to the fact that He is the Creator, He is the Preserver, He is the Redeemer through Christ Jesus. He is the Sovereign One, the Supreme One. He is eternal without beginning, without end. He is the Lawgiver, He is the Holy One, He is sinless. And everything else that can be said about Him is included in His name. His name is the very opposite of being without content. It is the very opposite of being insignificant. It is completely filled with content. The name of the Lord includes a full description of the very essence of God. It describes no one. It describes nothing else, only God. And our confidence, beloved, is that in His very name is included the comfort of God's saving mercy and grace. As the psalmist says in Psalm 27, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? And that means when we hear the very title, the name of the Lord, immediately our thoughts are to go that He is the God of our salvation and all that He has done for us in Christ Jesus. And therefore, to take the name of the Lord in vain means to treat Him as empty. It means to treat Him as meaningless, to use His name in a meaningless way. And in essence, beloved, it is to say that He is of no use to me. You see, the son in this story cursed God. Again, he said that he had no content. That he was empty. He said that he had no significance. He had no power. He was nothing. And by saying that, this son denied the very being and the very essence of God. and to do that is to insult God and to believe that God can do nothing about it. To take His name in vain was to challenge the reality of the very Word of God. It is to demonstrate hatred and contempt for God. And it is oh so very dangerous. Again, question 100. Is blasphemy of God's name by swearing and cursing really such serious sin that God is angry also with those who do not do all they can to help prevent it and to forbid it? Yes, indeed. No sin is greater. No sin makes God more angry than blaspheming His name. That is why He commanded the death penalty for it. God is so angry at blasphemy because to take His name in vain is to deny that He is God. In essence, it is to say that He is dead. And if you think about it in that way, beloved, each one of us is guilty of murder. In a sense. Murder with our lips. The murder of God. And we know that God's name, the Lord's name is taken in vain with words. And as well, the Lord's name is taken in vain with actions. His name is taken in vain with words, whether intentionally or ignorantly. Whether in anger or in joking. And even in exclamations. For example, cursing. Cursing. Using God's name in anger against another is taking the Lord's name in vain. Or lying. Think about lying. You see, when one lies, that is taking God's name in vain because it treats God who is the truth and who knows all things. It treats Him lightly. It treats Him as ignorant. It treats Him as if He doesn't know what's going on. jokes. We've all heard them. We've probably all told them about one dying and going to heaven and meeting St. Peter at the pearly gates. It's taking the Lord's name in vain. And what about exclamations? And you know where I'm going with this. The exclamations, Oh my God! Or Oh my gosh! Or Golly! Or G. And I suspect that there are some here that don't agree with me on this. And that's okay. You're wrong. All of these refer to God. They all refer to God. I've said it before from this pulpit. You see, if you go to the dictionary and you look up gosh or golly or G, you will see that it says these are euphemisms for God. They stand for God. And you say, but that's the dictionary. Who cares about the dictionary? Well, my point is the world reads the dictionary. The world might not read the Bible, but the world reads the dictionary. And if the world can go to the dictionary and see that these words commonly have the idea of meaning God or Jesus, and then they hear you and I use these phrases flippantly, then they are hearing you and I take the name of the Lord in vain. And you might say, but I don't mean anything by it. well that's even worse because to say I don't mean anything by it is then to admit that you are ignorantly using God's name in a meaningless way and when others hear that that then tells them that God doesn't mean very much to you please don't take the name of the Lord in vain by using these phrases and using these words because it insults Him it offends Him and it offends me. And I hope it offends you as well. But God's name is also taken in vain with our actions. Our sinful actions. Think about adultery. Think about homosexuality. Think about coveting. Think about cheating. Think about stealing. All of these sinful actions treat God's Word as optional and thereby attack His very character and it says that God doesn't mean what He says about sin. And therefore, it's all taking God's name in vain. And for example, beloved, we cast shame upon His name when we won't forgive another for the sin they have committed against us and we won't forget about it when we claim to be forgiven by God. Because when we won't forgive another for the sin that they have committed against us, that is to say that their sin against me is worse than my sin against God that God has forgiven. And that then too is to take God's name in vain by our actions. Or again, for those who claim to be children of the Most High God, who claim Him as their Heavenly Father, yet act in rage and anger, act in a way that is opposite of the very character of God who they claim to be as their Father, that too is to take His name in vain. Oh, in so many ways, beloved, we take the Lord's name in vain. But what about the proper use of God's name? We are to only use God's name when talking about Him reverently, when extolling Him for His greatness, when witnessing of Him. And then we are to speak of Him in the most meaningful of ways because He deserves our honor and our respect. He deserves that you and I take great care when using His name, when referring to Him. First of all, because He is God. First of all, because He is majestic and wonderful. First of all, because there is none other besides Him. And secondly, He deserves that we should take great care when using His name because He has saved us. Because of what He has done for us through Jesus Christ our Lord, He has done the most wonderful thing that we could ever have done for us. And that's amazing, isn't it? Because we honor, we tend to honor those in this life who have done something wonderful for us. We wouldn't dare to insult them. We wouldn't dare to speak against them or to hurt their feelings. Well, how much more ought we honor the One who has done that which is most wonderful for us? And again, using God's name properly includes, as we said a moment ago, the fact that we are called, beloved, to stand up for the honor of His name. As answer 99 begins, that we neither blaspheme nor misuse the name of God by cursing, perjury, or unnecessary oaths, nor share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders. I know it's hard for us to understand, but you see, when we are silent bystanders and we just let it go, we might not feel like we are guilty. but the fact is we are guilty we are guilty of participating in that very act of sin of taking the Lord's name in vain and again as the witnesses in the story in Leviticus chapter 24 all who heard were commanded to publicly demonstrate by laying their hands on the offender they were called to publicly demonstrate their hatred and their hatred against and their displeasure for this sin and the one who blasphemed and cursed the name of the Lord. We are called to stand up for God's honor because of who He is, but also because we know the danger of the guilt of those who take His name in vain. But what about His name and oaths? We need to say a word about oaths because obviously in the catechism, and rightly so, it ties the oath to the third commandment and that's very accurate because the oath is dealing with the truth. Again, 101. But may we swear an oath in God's name if we do it reverently? Yes. When the government demands it or when necessity requires it in order to maintain and promote truth and trustworthiness for God's glory and for our neighbor's good, such oaths are approved in God's Word and were rightly used by Old and New Testament believers. May we swear by saints or other creatures? No. A legitimate oath means calling upon God as one who knows my heart to witness to my truthfulness and to punish me if I swear falsely no creature is worthy of such honor. Beloved, we all know that all that we say is to be the truth. Plain and simple. It is to be the truth. But because of sin, there is the lie that is very prevalent in the world. And as the Catechism says, the oath is used to give weight to or to support and confirm that one is telling the truth. It is used to try to convince another one beyond the shadow of a doubt that one is telling the truth. And of course, we know that oaths are made in different ways. For example, someone might say, I swear, or honest. Boys and girls, you might hear that on a playground. Someone says, if you give me that ball, I swear I will give it right back. And that's an oath. Another oath that has been used is, cross my heart and hope to die. a very, very dangerous thing to say, a very, very serious thing to say. And these and others like them are false oaths. They're false oaths. Because really there's no weight to put behind them. But what is God's role? As the Catechism said, only God truly knows the heart. Only God can truly read the heart. As the psalmist says in Psalm 139, God knows our thoughts before we think them. He knows our words before we say them. And therefore, whether intentionally or not, whether consciously or not, whenever anyone makes an oath, whether seriously or not, and whether believing it or not, because the oath deals with the truth, it is calling on the name of the Lord as the only searcher of hearts, calling on Him to be a witness to what I'm about to say. And that's why it is so dangerous to utter a false oath or even to break an oath, because that then makes God a witness to a lie. And it is to call down His judgment and His punishment upon myself. Now, how necessary are oaths? Well, on the one hand, we can say that they ought not be. They ought not be necessary. Jesus said, let your yes be yes and let your no be no. But again, because of sin, because of lying, there is no trust among mankind and people want more than simply a yes or a no. But the Bible clearly teaches us, beloved, there's a lot more that we could say about oaths and I'm not going to tonight, but the Bible clearly teaches us that we are not to make careless oaths. But if you do make an oath, the Bible says keep it. And if you do make an oath, you are to make it only in God's name because only He can verify the truth of what you are saying. And of course, as the Catechism rightly says too, we are allowed to make an oath in the court of law because God has given the magistrate the sword to protect and promote good and to punish evil and we may then make an oath in God's name to maintain and promote the truth and truthfulness for the good of others as well. You see, the judge doesn't truly know if one is telling the truth or not. And therefore, he uses that powerful weapon called the oath. And in Exodus 22, we see this played out among two men who disagreed about something. You can read about it there, but the evidence was not clear with regard to who was telling the truth. And therefore, they had to seal their word with an oath and leave it in God's hands. Beloved, the Christian life, kingdom life, is to be a life where the lie does not live. It is to be a life where God's people live consciously and constantly before His face and in His presence. It is to be a life where the truth reigns supreme and the oath is not needed. And instead, believers are to live a continuous oath. Our lives are to be one continuous oath. and each word that we say is to have the force of an oath. Because the Holy Spirit has given His people a new heart with a clear view of the majesty of God, of God's holiness and perfection and truth, and therefore God's people not only desire to speak the truth because God is truth, but they also desire to promote the truth of God, of His very being, by not taking His name in vain, whether in thought or word or action. and the unrepentant, those who by their rejection of God reject the truth of Him and treat Him in vain, they will still face the judgment of God, even though we don't stone to death today. They are still guilty for God. They will still face the judgment of God. They will face a worse fate even than physical death to this life. They will face eternal death and the torment of hell. But those who are repentant, those who confess their sins before Almighty God and repent of their sins, they are forgiven. And guess what? That means that you and I are even forgiven for the sin of tearing God down. Imagine that. God forgives us for treating Him as nothing. You see, when our reputation is tarnished or attacked through gossip or libel, or slander, we hold a grudge. We hate the one who did it. But remember what God has done for us. God has delivered His people from the eternal capital punishment. He says, I will remember your sin no more. And He remembers our sin no more because of Jesus Christ, who in His very act of salvation, as He hung on the cross, He had His reputation, He had His saving works scorned and laughed at, yet He hung there. He hung there, beloved, and He endured every last bit of scorn until the whole debt was paid. And He did it for the honor of the name of God who promised to send the Savior. We have so often trampled the glorious name of God underfoot. We have so often rejected Him before the eyes of the world. How many times in this past week did you hear God's name being taken in vain? Did I say nothing? We have so often rejected Him before the eyes of the world. Yet, beloved, He has written our names forever in His book of life. If that isn't love, then you and I don't know what is. And when Jesus Christ comes again in all of His glory, then everyone will see the truth of Him. It will be unmistakable. And then as we consider this morning at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow before Him. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And not one tongue will dare at that time to take His name in vain. And until then, may we more and more by the power of the Spirit recognize the glory of His name. Until then, may we more and more protect and defend His name with all of our being. May we be willing to stand up publicly and be counted for the sake of the name of the Lord. And may each one of us ourselves use that name reverently and may we use it consciously in a way that testifies to this only wise God who lives and reigns forever. Beloved, how can we not stand up for the name of Him who saved us? Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do bow before You and ask, O Lord, that Your most holy name would not simply be words that we hear, but that every time we hear the name of the Lord, we would be struck with a sense of Your majesty, Your power, Your greatness, and Your saving love for us in Christ Jesus. And may it be, O Lord, that we would indeed, with courage given by You, may we stand up for the honor of Your most holy name and desire that all the world might see You in all of Your glory and all of Your majesty and all of Your truth. Heavenly Father, to that and strengthen us and help us that indeed we might live for You and speak of You only in a way that glorifies your most holy name. Hear our prayer for Jesus' sake and in his name alone. Amen.